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Residents Flee New Jersey in 2010, Moving Survey Finds

More people moved out of New Jersey than any other state in 2010, according to a national survey by United Van Lines , a moving company that has been tracking state-by-state migration patterns for 34 years.

The District of Columbia attracted the most new residents for the third straight year, according to the survey, which uses household moving data collected by United to determine high "inbound"- and "outbound"-traffic states.

The survey's methodology, of course, is far from perfect, since it tracks only moving orders involving United and cannot account for moves involving other (or no) companies. But it does track nearly 150,000 interstate household moves across the 48 contiguous states and provides an interesting, and current, snapshot of the states that are gaining and losing residents.

New Jersey's biggest-in-the-nation outbound traffic marks the first time in five years that the distinction hasn't gone to Michigan, according to the survey. Of the moves involving New Jersey residents in 2010, 62.5 percent were headed out of state. Michigan was second in the nation in shedding residents, followed by Missouri.

By contrast, 64.3 percent of the moves involving the District of Columbia saw people moving in. States with similarly high inbound traffic include Oregon and North Carolina.